This is not my typical publication timeline. But it was important for me to share this today. Thank you for your patience. Upon reading it, I trust you will understand.
Some of my heroes are social justice warriors/advocates who stood for the values of basic human decency, kindness, compassion, and love. Some attained world-wide status: Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Dorothy Day, John Lewis, Bishop Desmond Tutu, HH The Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Cesar Chavez, Oren Lyons, Saint Mother Theresa, Eleanor Roosevelt. The list could go on—especially when you include those who hold the same values but at a smaller scale. THESE warriors for the human spirit act without notoriety or acclaim or fame or celebrity. Yet, their bearing and Being in the world is just as important as the most famous among these.
I feel it vitally important, in this current era of political divisiveness, fear-mongering, hatred, and retribution, to seek out like minded, kindred souls so that we stand together in support of our commonly-shared values of human decency. THIS is how we get through.
Together.
Today, the lead curator of SmallStack,
and folks at published a brave essay on behalf of all us “small” Substackers who do not have massive subscriber lists. I am one of those—but I am PROUDLY one of those as I am not here to gain a wide following or to earn any money. One of the evils in our runaway capitalistic society, one that will immediately surface come Jan. 20, 2025 (if it hasn’t already been made public for you), is the value this next administration, and its leaders, and our society as a whole, places on greed.Here’s Robin’s profound declaration of values that I simply HAD to affirm and reproduce, as encouraged to do so, under my own name and on my own Substack page:
Our declaration of values
SmallStack is, and has always been, a place where anyone is welcome to join our community that uplifts smaller voices. We believe in the power of coming together in creativity, support, and kindness. We are a sanctuary and refuge, and our shelter is open to all.
Our stories deserve to be told.
SmallStack has the power to leverage many small voices into a larger collective, and we endeavor to use this strength to promote the best facets of our community. We reject hate-speech, racism, misogyny, intolerance, bigotry, xenomisia, homomisia³, transmisia, and ableism. We decry genocide and violence. We oppose the patriarchy when and where possible, and we feel strongly that extreme capitalism⁴ harms us all.
Even (especially) when it is hard and uncomfortable, we will stand up in support of ourselves and others, whether they are subscribers, community members, or people we have not yet met. It is so hard to speak out against hatred, intolerance, and violence, which means we will help one another make it happen. We will not stand by silently and allow anyone to be abused.
I proudly affirm these values—THIS is how I want to be known. THIS is the ally I have to be.
THIS is my community.
In the original Oliver Stone 1987 movie, Wall Street, there is a famous scene where Gordon Gekko (played by Michael Douglas) said:
The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed -- for lack of a better word -- is good.
Greed is right.
Greed works.
By definition, even if you want to attach the word to something more benevolent (ironically, this is what the Gekko character tried to do during that same speech):
Greed, in all of its forms -- greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge -- has marked the upward surge of mankind.
…greed is always, in the end, destructive, as even Gekko himself discovered at the end of the film. Greed implies my hunger for more MUST mean YOU get less. Greed is based upon an economy of scarcity—that there is not enough to go around so I need to fight like hell, no holds barred, “fuck the rules or laws meant to restrain me”, to get as much as I can, as quickly as I can, regardless of how that impacts you. Greed plays the transactional “win/lose” game. You don’t even have to watch carefully to see that the next president plays this exact game—it’s the only game he knows. And he’s forcing Americans into the game. What he doesn’t tell you, is that there is only one winner—and the rest of us, by default, because this is how the game is rigged, will lose.
Robin’s post, which I hope you will read, embedded in his post below, goes into greater detail on how greed manifests itself through the racist, bigoted, paternalistic, misogynistic, LGBTQ+phobic, hate-filled tantrums of the elite ruling class as well as the entitled, white-supremacist policies and executive orders that we are about have thrust upon us.
Here’s Robin’s open letter itself meant for the SmallStack writers on Substack (but important for all to read):
Small Stands Tall
Dear Substack Community -
When you came to Substack to write or create or read, you probably thought this would be a cool place to grow and explore. And it is. But Substack leadership has put a lot of mechanisms in place to promote and platform voices that are large, hateful, and intent on harming others through disinformation.
We—the collective, small voices of creators and community members on Substack—believe that this is wrong, it is hurtful, and it has the potential to stifle growth for many of us. Worse, it further marginalizes many of us who are actively targeted by the increasing wave of local and global laws, policies, and social stigmas being promoted around us.
Small voices have big power when we stand together in solidarity, and most of the publications on Substack are small, just like us. This means we get to decide how and where we spend our time, money, and attention.
Signers of this letter believe in the following:
We help our neighbors by calling out hate-speech, racism, misogyny, intolerance, bigotry, xenomisia, homomisia, transmisia, ableism, genocide, and violence when and where we see it by reporting and blocking such content and sharing the collective knowledge about harmful accounts.
We endeavor to build community by caring for one another. Caring means showing up for one another even (especially) when it is hard or scary to do.
We reject the intentional platforming of voices that spread hatred and disinformation.
We stand proudly for kindness and inclusivity, and we invite you to stand with us. Small voices can achieve huge change when we unite.
Signed,
Small Voices against Big Hatred
United through Community, and standing PROUDLY for Kindness and Inclusivity,
~ Kert Lenseigne
A small voice against big hatred.
PS: The theme of my regular Friday post just changed. In addition to standing against something (eg the attempts at Totalitarianism, Oligarchy, and Facism), I feel it necessary to stand for something—like the values and ideals Robin declares. And there are other models, practical models, that even individuals can practice that moves us out of the transactional game of greed, toward something more life-affirming and sustainable. Provided we have the courage and imagination to do so. THAT’s Friday!
Thank you, Kert. And the SmallStack founders and creators.
This kind of unity, the kind with integrity is much needed. Thank you.